New Smyrna Beach, Florida - 2011

My parents came over to Hilton Head and we all drove to New Smyrna Beach on Saturday July 9th. Ryland did pretty good in all of the long car trips .... Atlanta to Hilton Head, Hilton Head to New Smyrna Beach, and New Smyrna Beach back to Atlanta. We had both cars packed full with stuff and as always ... we took too much. But now we know what to take and not take next time :)

This year was A LOT different than last year with Ryland. Last year Ryland was only sitting up and crawling. This year Ryland was running, running and more running! Which made it really interesting when he was at the pool or beach. It was actually easier to take him to the beach and let him run free than chase him around the pool. And there were plenty of kids around for him to play with. Jill, Dan, Andrea and Lucas came with us this year and we all had so much fun. Lucas is only 2 months older than Ryland so it was really cute to see them together. And we never get to see them since they live in Miami so it was nice to spend an entire week together.

Ryland adjusted to the condo pretty well. Our bedroom had a walk in closet so we put his pack-n-play in there and he slept great. It took him a little bit to go down the first night but once he was use to the room and area it was no problem at all. Our condo was also on the first level so our porch walked right out into the pool area which made it really easy coming and going. There were a few times where that worked to our disadvantage though. Like when he would want to go outside to play but could not. And then he would have a melt down at the sliding glass door.

Ryland really loved being in the pool and became really comfortable with the water ... which is a good thing and a bad thing. It was a good thing because he still hates anything that blows up. So that means that he would never sit in a float or wear swimmies. So we had to hold him in the pool the entire time. But he played really well on the steps. And would jump to us from the side of the pool and splash around. He would also go under water and it would not bother him at all. I think he learned how not to swallow the water which is good.

Ryland also loved being at the beach and playing in the sand. The ocean was really cold and I think it kind of scared him a little bit so he never really went into the water besides just getting his feet wet. The beach was really wide and Ryland would get tired walking in the sand and wanted us to pick him up which was always fun since I do not like to get sand all over me.

And most of all Ryland L-O-V-E-D his CC and Pops being there. I joked the entire week saying that I was going to have to win back over Ryland's affection after we got home because I think my parents stole it all ... which I guess grandparents are suppose to do. He would wake up every morning and get so excited that they were still there and loved hanging out with them all day. They had plenty of quality time together ... playing on the beach, reading books, walking around, sitting on the porch and blowing bubbles with the automatic bubble blower, playing in the condo, watching TV in their bedroom and playing hide and seek.

What a great trip. We cannot wait to go back next year!